


Seven Ways of Seeing Armitage Hux

by BrownGirlDreams



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, GRSecretSpy, Gingerflower, Gingerrose - Freeform, My First Smut, Not Canon Compliant, Rosehux, Roux - Freeform, Unplanned Pregnancy, gingerose holiday exchange secret spy 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:33:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28449993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrownGirlDreams/pseuds/BrownGirlDreams
Summary: The second time Rose Tico lays eyes on Armitage Hux, he's sprawled at her feet on a dirty hanger floor. The end of the war and the resulting peace transform her view in ways she'd never imagined.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico
Comments: 18
Kudos: 59





	1. Seven Ways of Seeing Armitage Hux

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Catfruit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catfruit/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second time Rose Tico lays eyes on Armitage Hux, he's sprawled at her feet on a dirty hanger floor. The end of the war and the resulting peace transform her view in ways she'd never imagined.

The second time she laid eyes on Armitage Hux, he was sprawled at her feet on a dirty hanger floor. He was bleeding severely from a blaster wound to his leg. Her colleagues patched him up hastily, but blood had begun to seep through his bandage. It wasn't good, and he’d needed the medbay immediately. He’d looked uncharacteristically benign then and not at all terrifying. If it weren’t for his dirty First Order uniform, he’d be nearly unrecognizable. He looked pale and much younger, almost vulnerable with his fire-colored hair knocked loose over his forehead. Still, Rose had only to close her weary eyes to see his cruel smirk and feel the force of his hand, gripping her face as he’d ordered her execution. The recollection always made her blood run cold. Her memory and the wounded man before her were difficult to reconcile. He’d been hard to forget, and it looked like circumstances would not allow her to do it. 

Armitage Hux had been an easy target for blame; after all, he was the First Order’s living, breathing embodiment. There was no nuance in that position. Those last days of the war had wearied the resistance. Their losses kept adding up. They were losing people and equipment quicker than they could afford to. As Rose walked away, she’d noticed the consternation on the faces around her. People were tired and angry. In light of everything, it didn’t make sense to save a notorious general. No one could have guessed what the future held. Rose left the general to his fate and made her way to her work station; a malfunctioning engine waited for her. It was an easy problem, but a pressing one. Rose sighed and took up the task at hand. Work was the only thing that made sense. Most aspects of her life carried on as expected, but nothing seemed right without her sister. After Paige died, Rose had a mission to consume all her energy, so Rose kept riding a never-ending tide of work. Work kept pain and memories at bay, at least while she was awake. 

Routines were also important to Rose. She marked out her days by what the hours dictated, and supper was a particular kind of ordeal. She often sat and smiled vaguely at what the people around her said, but their words always blended into meaningless noise. She’d push her food around on her plate, her eyes not seeing what was before her nor tasting what she ate. It was exhausting to sit amongst so many people but feel like a ghost inside. She was always present but remained unseen. It was disorientating to live in a galaxy that continued to function normally without Paige. Thinking about her was dangerous, but the feeling was worse, and she couldn’t articulate any of her feelings to anyone, not even Finn. 

“Talk to me, Rose. Tell me what’s going on.” He’d said one day when he cornered her in her workshop. He stood in front of her station, concern and kindness written on his face, but Rose didn’t have the energy or the heart to unburden herself. She was afraid she’d start to wailing and never stop. Who could bear that if she couldn’t? 

She’d stood frozen, like she was trapped in carbonite, her heart contracting with physical pain. 

She took a deep, shaking breath, “I’m just tired, that’s all. There’s always so much going on. You know that.” She gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Finn frowned. Deflection was the common thread in their conversations ever since they returned from Crait. She’d declared something like love to him there, but back on base, she’d completely shut down. She never wanted to be alone with him, and when they were with others, she was distracted and listless. 

“Are you having second thoughts about us?” Finn gestured between them.

“It’s not that. Of course not.” Rose said, shaking her head but turned her back to him, pretending to organize tools on a shelf behind her. 

“Rose, he’d said reproachfully. “Look at me.”

“I’m just tired. Can we leave it at that? Can you drop this and stop pestering me? Please?”

“Pestering?” Finn’s patience was finally spent. He was tired of being shut out of her life and effectively her heart. His beautiful, black eyes looked regretful, but his tone was firm.

“Have it your way. I'm sorry for _bothering_ you. See you around, Rose.” 

Rose turned to see Finn moving towards the exit. 

“Finn,” she called after him, his name almost a sob. 

He’d stopped and turned to look at her, pity in his eyes. Returning, he took her in his arms, and kissed her forehead.

“I’ll be here when you need a friend, but I can’t live with ghosts.” 

Rose didn’t know if he’d meant her or Paige. 

***

The general’s presence in their midst caused a stir. Naturally, speculation among resistance crews was rampant.

“You had a run-in with Hux, Rose? Didn’t you?” Kaydel Ko Connix asked, her bright blue eyes wide and eager, as Rose took a seat among several resistance members breakfasting one morning. 

“You and Finn, right? Was he horrible? How do you think someone like that ends up here?”

Nimi Chireen shook her head at Kaydel, a slight frown on her face. Nimi had quarters next to Rose and was sometimes woken at night by what sounded like crying from the next room. Nimi and Paige Tico had come up as pilots together, and though she hadn’t been close to either of the sisters, she was sensitive enough to understand that the general’s presence had triggered something for a lot of people. Despite her attempt to discourage such a public interrogation, all eyes at the table turned to Rose Tico. 

Embarrassed at being singled out, Rose muttered the first thing that came into her head, “Who knows. They probably push them out of their academies, twisted and dark. How can anyone predict what they’ll do? But you’d better ask Finn. He has more experience with that than I do. I got work to do. Excuse me.” 

She’d walked away from the table, blinking hard. Rose had no desire for discussions about the general, and she cursed herself for mentioning Finn. Rose’s detachment was a delicate thing; without her numbness, she was afraid she’d crack, and she couldn’t bear that, not when there was no one left to put her back together. 

  
  


***

The third time Rose Tico saw Armitage Hux, Ben Solo called him a good traitor.

“Like you?” Rose asked, turning to face the former Supreme Leader, who’d improbably returned to the light and his family. 

“As far as that goes.Yes.” Ben Solo replied before he continued on his way. 

The three of them unexpectedly converged as Hux made his way to daily interrogation. Rose’s proximity to figures she’d been conditioned to think of as her greatest enemies made her breath stall in her chest. The alliances the war had recently wrought were beyond the scope of her imagination. She pressed herself against a wall as they crowded the hall. Hux passed with a cane in his hand and a slight limp. He'd begun to grow a beard and let his hair grow long. Like any Resistance fighter on base, he looked ordinary, mostly because he wore the basics allocated to him. Only his ram-rod bearing hinted of his past life, and one would have to work hard to put those pieces together. He had looked at Ben, who stepped aside to let him pass with a slight nod of the head, when his pale green eyes turned to Rose, a startled, conscious look of guilt washed over his features. 

_ He remembers. _ Rose thought with surprise. 

Armitage Hux looked like a different man. Though the former Kylo Ren’s presence made a defected general seem like a small matter, indeed, not everyone could abandon their incredulity. At least, until reports began to circulate and the Resistance began to win strategic battles. The former General Hux was said to be like a dam burst open, completely unrestrained. He sat in the war room and provided every kind of intelligence he’d been privy to. Technology, locations, troop numbers, there was nothing the resistance leadership asked that Hux would not divulge. In a six-month cycle, he managed to fill the gaps in detailed knowledge Ben Solo could not provide. They corroborated each other’s intel, and between them, there was enough intelligence to destroy the Order outright. 

_ Good traitor, after all _ , Rose thought, but the peace had come too late for Paige Tico. 

Hays Minor’s daughters were said to be fighters, and it was love that made them fierce, but in Paige’s case, it hadn’t been enough. The war was effectively over, and it had been hard for Rose not to despair about the future. The fight was the last remaining piece she’d had of Paige, the last thing they’d had together; when that was gone, there would be nothing left of her but a necklace Rose wore around her neck.

***

“I have destroyed your way of life. I have done you a grave injustice.”

These were the last words Rose Tico ever expected to see come from Armitage Hux’s lips. The acknowledgment cut Rose to the heart. Truth of them reverberated through her body and lodged in her brain. His admission was like a blow, for here was her enemy speaking the thing she felt but could not utter to another person. She didn’t think her heart could break again. 

His words made her flinch. “I realize that nothing I can say today will change the fact of your life as it is now. You have no planet. No family because of who I was and what I did.”

His words brought her losses home. This was no waking nightmare. Both terror and truth lived in his confession. 

Unbidden, large tears rolled down Rose's face and fell, wet on her hands. Her throat felt tight; her grief choked her. 

“I want to ask you to forgive me, but in good conscience, I know I don’t deserve forgiveness. When I realize that I have to live with what I’ve done, death seems preferable.  If I could die to undo everything I’ve done, Miss Tico, I would. If my death brought you a moment's relief, I would gladly lay down my life. To face myself in this way has been unbearable, a torment I shall carry with me always.”

Rose got up from her chair and made her way out of the room. Tears blurred her vision as she stumbled towards the door. She hit the door’s control panel until it slid open and set her free. 

  
***

The newly formed Restoration Council had spared the former general’s life after the war’s conclusion. This judgment was a surprise to all, even to Hux. He admitted later that he believed that the end of his usefulness to the Resistance meant his death was imminent, but the council was forging a new way forward. Instead of separations, they were determined to engineer encounters; offenders were given a chance to make amends, and survivors the option to offer mercy instead of vengeance. This was a new law for the galaxy; one which aspired to reintegrate all life forms into the intergalactic community and a spirit of truth that encompassed all aspects of justice instead of the mere letter of the law. As a result, former enemies like Rose Tico and Armitage Hux found themselves face to face. These attempts at rapprochement were by no means forced, for forgiveness was only powerful when the ability to strike back was set aside willingly, especially when, as in Rose’s case, a strike was amply justified. 

  
  


A disbelief ran through what was left of the Resistance army when the results of their conferences were known. After months of walling herself off from everyone, why would Rose Tico agree to go with Armitage Hux? They had their answer sooner than they’d imagined. 

“I’m Arkanian by birth. My mother was a native of that planet,” Armitage Hux declared before the gathered personnel the day before he and Rose were set to leave. “Before the F.O. arrived, disputes were resolved within Arkanian clans. When someone was harmed, the offense reverberated through family lines. If the offense was grave, the perpetrator offered the remaining kin a bond of manrent. This bond assured allegiance and service to survivors for life. The reparation would, as far as possible, right the disruption. I robbed Miss Tico of the protection of her family and her home. It is now my responsibility to provide her with a home and a family’s care. Our old vow declares that my people will be her people and my gods, her gods. I pledge to follow where she goes until the day I die and am buried. I call upon the stars to deal with me, be it ever so severely if anything but death parts me from her. This is the reparation offer I have made to Miss Tico and one she’s accepted.”

***

Nimi Chireen had set aside her natural reticence to knock on Rose’s chamber door. Nimi had a kind heart and practical instincts, and Rose’s decision shocked even her. The sounds of weeping from Rose’s quarters had stopped, but she was not forthcoming about her decision. For Paige’s sake and her peace of mind, Nimi had made it a point to check in on Rose several times before her leaving was settled. Rose still generally refused to be drawn out, but in time the women had forged a kind of friendship, but it was tentative in the way new friendships are. 

“Are you sure, Rose? You know you don’t have to go.”

“I know," Rose said, "But I’m going. I want to.”

Having Nimi around was comforting to Rose even as it was painful. Her flight suit, her determined gait, reminded her of Paige. Nimi was a link to the kind of woman her sister was, brave and beautiful, and she had a big sisterly way of questioning what Rose decided to do. It made Rose smile a little, even if it annoyed her.

“Rose, I’m sorry,” Nimi said as she made her way into the room and sat on Rose’s bed, “I don’t have any business in asking this at all, but is this because of what happened with Finn?“

“You’re right, you don’t have any business asking, but it’s not just Finn. It’s everything. I can’t explain.”

“But Armitage Hux, Rose?” Nimi eyes were worried

Rose sighed. “I know. I know it seems crazy, but it's policy now. It’s what we do.”

Yeah, but no one has taken it this much to heart.” 

“Can I be honest with you, Nimi?” Rose asked. 

Nimi nodded at Rose expectantly. 

“Paige is gone. The war is over. People are dead, and that’s not changing no matter how much I want it to. Rose smiled sadly. I’ve exhausted myself trying to deny things that happened. I thought that if I didn’t accept the past, I could somehow change it. I wanted to control what happened by refusing it. It didn't work. It didn't make things stop hurting. My mom told Paige and me before we left to join the Resistance that we can’t win by killing what we hate; we have to save what we love.” 

Nimi was taken aback a little. “ Wait. Do you mean you. . . “

“I’m not saying I love the man. It’s not him I’m trying to save. I’m going because I need to save that part of myself I thought died with Paige and my parents and our planet. I don’t know if you can understand. I don’t know if I understand it completely either, but I know it's right.” 

Nimi sat quietly and watched Rose pack her things. She couldn’t grasp what Rose meant, but it seemed like Rose understood what she was doing. It would have to be enough. 

***

The first time Rose Tico truly saw the beauty of his face, it was in reflection. It was the anniversary of their first year’s cycle at Currhall. The hall was Armitage Hux’s ancestral home, and its name was his father’s attempt at another humiliation. In the end, the son had the last laugh because the hall had life in it once again and a love which it had never known in Brendol Hux’s time. When they’d arrived at the hall’s entrance, Armitage Hux had declared in old Arkanian, 

“Tagaim gach rud duiste.” I give everything to you. 

Rose smiled because the hall needed repairs badly then, but she couldn’t find fault in the sentiment. They spent the year at work on the hall and discovered the landscape around them and their hearts' topology. Armitage Hux’s attention to her had always been deferential, almost brotherly in the beginning. He bore her silences and her rages with equal care and listened for the things she left unspoken. Soon enough, Rose wanted his stories, and they poured out like a river. There were tales of a room in the hall’s kitchen that his birth mother occupied, the suffering and terrors of a boy in the Order, a father that thought nothing of inflicting humiliation. 

Gradually, imperceptibly, affection grew and with it, desire. 

That fateful morning, the former general stood watching her movements, his tall, lithe form mirrored back to her from the bedroom door. He wore his nightclothes still. His bare chest covered loosely by his untied robe. He watched her brush her thick, night-dark hair in the standing glass. She was lost in meditation until she spied his silent form. She had opened the bedroom windows, and the air outside caused the pale blue curtains to move gently with the morning breeze. Their motion caused the rare Arakasian sun to cast shadows in the room around her. She looked otherworldly in the shifting light. She was like the pictures of Arkainian goddesses Hux saw as a boy, remote, gentle, and always benevolent. The brush she held in her hand had belonged to his mother and had not seen use in years. He’d said that all he possessed would be hers, and he was as good as his word. A good traitor he was, but what other kinds of good might he be? Such changes the end of the wars had brought. It all seemed like a nightmare turned daydream. He didn’t speak as he made his way to her across the room. He discarded his robe as he went. The rich, old carpets on the floor muffled his steps. He stopped behind her, only inches away from her body, and continued to hold her gaze in the glass. They stood that way for what seemed an eternity until, at last, with clarity, they could read the unspoken desire in each other’s eyes. 

Hux slowly removed the light gossamer robe she wore over her nightdress. The touch of his fingertips on her skin kindled her yearning almost to pain. She was all nerves and energy as he let her robe fall to the ground. Hux stood gazing at her reflection like a thirsty man drinking his fill. His hands grasped the delicate straps at her shoulders to gently bring them down over her brown arms. Tears threatened to start in Rose’s eyes at his deliberateness. This was no fumble behind a lonely hanger, and Hux was no bumbling lad. Rose saw him lower her gown till it fell under her breasts, his long fingers enveloping her waist. Hux’s breath caught at the sight of her nakedness, and he uttered the word beautiful into her ear as he brushed her cheek with his lips. He moved to fill his hands with her generous breasts. Rose’s breath came rapidly as he pressed his body into hers. She felt a rigid insistence at her back, evidence of his hunger. She wanted nothing more than to turn and thrust herself into his arms, but he sensed her instinct and held her steady in front of the glass.

“Don’t move.” He said to her reflection. His pale green eyes were commanding hers. “I want you to watch. I want this to be what you see when you close your eyes and think of me.”

He was making a new memory for her. He could not bear the thought of her old vision. He was determined to wipe it away. 

He pulled the bottom of her gown up roughly till it rested around her waist. He angled her so that her behind was exposed to their view while he ran the back of his hand languidly up her inner thigh to her sex and rested his fingers there, at her seam. She gasped as he removed his hand to caress her bottom gently. She was damp and warm, ready for him. Rose began to whimper, grasping for something to cling to. She gripped his waist with her small hands, attempting to pull him into her with all her force. 

“Please!” Rose cried out desperately. Her face was a miracle to him, flushed with anguish and passion. She never begged when he could have taken her life; it meant something that she should do so now. 

Giving way to his need Hux allowed her to push away the loose pajamas that kept his flesh separate from hers. With a deft movement, he entered her from behind, still holding Rose tight against him. They both stilled for a moment, feeling the reality of their union and the pleasure of occupation. He groaned as he felt her warm wetness around him. He looked at her in the mirror, her naked feet almost off the ground, her mouth slightly open, and her eyes glazed with lust. 

“Rose,” he called her name. He wanted her to watch and to remember.

Her eyes took a moment to focus on his face as he stood behind her, strong arms and hard chest behind her. 

As Hux held her gaze, he bent her over so that her feet firmly felt the floor. He secured his grip on her waist and began to withdraw languidly. She watched him slide in and out of her body, her breasts swaying, his face flushed. The sight riveted her; his body moved in graceful motion as he pierced her to the hilt. 

“Will. You. Remember? ” He asked as he increased his pace with more and more force. 

Rose’s words came in short gasps timed to his trusts. She tried to grip his hands at her waist, 

“Yes. Ah, yes!” 

He moved one hand to slip his long fingers into her sex as he ramped up to a punishing pace from behind. He coaxed her pleasure, the feeling of her wet little pearl between his fingers exciting him more. 

Rose groaned, his ministrations robbing her of sense. 

“Hux,” she panted breathlessly. “Oh, stars!” 

“Yes, Rose. Yes, that’s it.” He responded, his words choked, “Come for me. Come, love.” 

His words and her pleasure exploded like fireworks around her. 


	2. Seven Ways of Seeing Armitage Hux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Rose Tico saw Armitage Hux’s face assume a cold steeliness, she feared she was watching her happiness turn to ash.

When Rose Tico saw Armitage Hux’s face assume a cold steeliness, she feared she was watching her happiness turn to ash in front of her eyes. Old Millie’s well-meaning but disastrous pronouncement produced an instant change in his demeanor. His smile became tight, and he quickly withdrew his gaze from hers after his initial shock registered in his eyes. A familiar lump formed in Rose’s throat as she watched him mount the old staircase up to the hall’s main floor. His steps were heavy as he leaned on the wall, his long, pale hand bracing him. Rose watched his black jacketed shoulders drop with the weight of what they’d heard. He'd grown so achingly vital to her she could read his heart in his movements. It grieved her to think she added to his burdens. Their understanding was like breathing now. In a happier time, she might have smiled with pleasure at the thought, but her mind was too filled with anxiety for that now. 

***

After returning to his home planet, Rose had discovered that there was something deeply Arkanian about Armitage Hux, aspects of his character that were elemental and rooted as the woods and turbulent as the sea outside their home. It had been a crime to keep him aboard sterile ships for most of his life. How he’d survived suffocation of both body and soul, she couldn’t quite comprehend. Before she genuinely understood him, he’d seemed so much of the First Order’s formation that Rose worried about his adjustment to post-war life as much as her own. Watching him throw off his conditioning was like witnessing a Hothian glacier thaw. Hux still affected all black in dress because, as Rose learned, he was essentially a creature of habit. The concession he made to his new life kept his thick copper hair longer than F.O. regulation would have allowed. He came in with it, often blown and wet from the relentless rain of the watery planet. His face was covered by his thick beard that also held the rain. Rose was sorry not to see the sharp lines of his cheekbones and the fullness of his mouth, but she noted that he hardly looked much like the general of old. Sometimes she was tempted to pretend that that old iteration hadn’t been real. 

Rose, for her part, had to put aside her detachment. She lived in a half-dream before arriving on Arkanis, and to be fully present was startling and uncomfortable at first. She’d needed to touch the hall’s stone walls or walk in the cold morning mist to ground herself in her new life. The change in her circumstances was striking, almost unfathomable, but she had chosen it and was committed to the choice. Change, grief, and unbidden love at times fought inside her, causing her to lash out. Rose wanted to run away or crawl into the comfort of oblivion at times, but there was no real life in pretense. Undaunted by her shifts in mood, Hux remained unflaggingly tender, patient, and kind.

“When I was a boy and then an officer, it was easier to be angry, much easier to turn to rage than acknowledge my fears. My anger protected me. It was the only protection I had.” 

His confession startled Rose with its acuteness. Armitage Hux was not a talkative man, but he spoke with intention and hard-won wisdom when he did. His captivity had left him with time to reckon with himself, he said.

“When you start telling the truth, Rose. It becomes easier to reveal the most important facts to yourself. There’s no point in hiding, especially if death is imminent.” 

He’d smiled at her then. His pale green eyes were dancing despite the difficult memories between them. He was always reflective after lovemaking when their intimacy had been carried out to its fullest completion.

“I don’t like to talk about your death.” She scolded him as she threw her soft arm across his bare chest and pressed her naked body against his.

“Ah, but what is that when my reprieve was so sweet.” He’d responded, kissing the top of her head. 

It was his hard won commitment to truth-telling that made their subsequent breach so much worse. 

***

In Brendol Hux’s time, the Currhall had had pretensions. It had been designed to communicate the Galactic Empire’s occupations ineffable power and the future dynastic glories of the family Hux the elder intended to build. The hall was situated high atop a cliff just off the sea’s coast; it made for a grim view. Carved entirely out of stone, it was grey, greyer than the eyes of the monsters that haunted the planet’s seashore. Returning to the hall was an excruciating choice, but it was the only place in the galaxy Armitage Hux could honestly claim. If it weren't for Rose, he'd likely wander from planet to planet, but he'd vowed to provide a home, and he was determined to do it, even if it meant facing old terrors. 

The hall had fallen into decay and was in serious need of repair. This work was their saving grace. Hux and Rose were by nature problem solvers; they fell to the task at hand as much from necessity as from awkwardness. Work was their most significant commonality then. The rain on Arkanis was constant, as Hux had warned, and while it made their task difficult at times, it rendered the landscape vibrant and ever-changing. Arkanis had foliage and fauna that was a lush, vivid green color that dazzled the eyes. The gardens of the hall, though overgrown and untended, were a wonder. These planetary differences provided Rose a much-needed distraction and spurred her towards discovering a world outside her mind. It was life-giving to concentrate on problems unrelated to war. No longer compelled to survive merely, she had the freedom to build a future.

There was a small fishing village not far from the hall, but Rose rarely ventured there. Hux went to make arrangements for their food and supplies, but the people spoke Arkanisian, and Rose felt silly and shy when Hux offered to teach her so she might go herself. Many spoke the common tongue, he’d insisted, but Rose wondered what people would make of her and if they remembered the old general’s son and knew what he’d become. She’d preferred to keep to more out-of-the-way places where questions she might not understand and did not want to answer could be avoided. Instead, she liked to accompany Hux to the old academy’s ruins when he went to find usable salvage to repurpose.

“Were you sent here to school?” Rose asked him as they walked through the debris. 

“Yes. When I was five.” He’d answered, not looking at her, his eyes seeing something among the ruins she couldn’t. 

“That's very young, isn’t it?” 

“Some children began earlier,” he’d said, “In any case, I preferred it to home.”

*******

Rose made a workroom out of the old basement kitchen at the back of the hall. It was obsolete since they'd installed a modern alternative on the ground floor, but Rose still found herself drawn to the space. Hux wanted to gut it to install a security hub for the house, but Rose had vetoed the idea. Lonely as the hall was, it seemed unnecessary. Miraculously, he’d conceded because Hux was determined to alter everything he could in the hall. He’d demolished the room that served as his father’s old study, taking out the walls of the dark, stifling room. It made their sitting room cavernous, but Hux insisted. He’d taken out old chairs, anything that remained of his father’s presence, and burnt it in front of the hall, no mean feat in the near-constant rain. Bedrooms met the same fate; furniture, tapestries, clothing, anything that could be carried was taken out to burn. It was not a loss they could easily absorb, for they’d need to replace necessities. 

“Demons are harder to exorcise than ghosts,“ he said to her as they watched it all burn. “You have to be thorough.” 

***

Eventually, the outside world came to Rose. They needed income, and while both adept at working at war, the tasks they could find planetside were far more straightforward. Hux went out with the men on the fishing ships, a dangerous proposition, but no one on Arkanis needed generals, strong hands and a steel stomach were what was wanted. Rose found a sideline in repairing small vehicles. The ship they’d arrived in was the most sophisticated for miles around. Arkanians needed wheels recalibrated and ancient engines seen to and would pay a fair price in bread or fine cloth equal to Rose’s time and effort. Rose wondered what Paige would make of her living as she did, a pauper queen in a grand house but wearing her old coverall. 

Nevertheless, Rose was content. Thoughts of her sister no longer undid her. She still grieved for Paige, but she could bear the sorrow along with joy. One did not outweigh the other; grief was no longer the only truth lodged in Rose’s heart. She was now capable of inviting others in. Many villagers came to the hall more out of curiosity than actual need. The slightest pretext served as a means to see the young general’s woman. She was an anomaly, for many Arkasians seemed to possess fair hair in various shades of russet, along with impressive height. They found Rose’s night-dark hair and small stature curious but charming. It was not difficult to understand the young general’s draw, for Rose always had a kind smile, a cup of tea, and an inclination to listen. No one took more pleasure in her company than Old Millie, a frequent visitor to the hall. Hux had been right; most villagers spoke the common tongue and were far too polite to ask awkward questions. Even old Millie did not ask for Rose’s history. She merely accepted her presence as an unlooked-for pleasure. The old woman had an ancient repulsor cart that she used to make her way, and it was nearly always in need of tuning. Rose soon learned that Millie was a repository of all the collective history of her village. Her memory was long, and she had a sharp eye. She’d also been a contemporary of Hux’s mother, a revelation that was at first steeped in joy before everything began to unravel. 

***

Rose and Hux were both in the back kitchen when Millie stopped on her fateful visit. Hux didn’t recognize the tall woman whose thick white hair was styled in intricate braids and wound around her head. She stooped a little and wore long woolen skirts and what appeared to be a man’s cable knit sweater. The cold season was coming, and it chilled old bones, so the woman was well prepared, comfortably bundled and shod against the rain. 

“There now, fine thing to find you both here!” She called by way of greeting as she made her way through the low door. I'm glad to see someone in the old house again, general. It looks less gloomy from when your pa were here.”

“You needn’t call me general, Ma’am. That was my old life. I’m no general now.” Hux said as he deferentially took her hand to lead her to a chair near the fire. Rose kept it burning more for its novelty than its heat. 

“Well, so it is.” She said, regarding Hux thoughtfully. “Change is a fine thing, and it keeps things lively, don’t it?” 

Rose smiled at the old woman. “Would you like some tea, Miss Millie? I was going to brew some for us.”

“Tea would be fine, Miss, if it’s not too much trouble. I hope I’m not disturbing you. I came to see you close up, Mister Hux. I’ve met your Rose often enough, but never you. I wanted to see Mara’s lad for myself.”

“Mara?” Hux asked. The name went through him like a shock.

“Yes, lad.Your ma. Don’t you remember?” 

“No,” Hux responded, looking stricken. “I wish I could say I did.”

Rose moved, heart in her throat, to hand them both their tea and brought chairs for her and Hux. Millie made a small sigh and shifted in her seat across from them, “I were worried that might be, for you was but a little lad when they took you.”

The old woman’s face assumed a faraway look as she began to speak, “You can't imagine what his mother were like, Miss Rose. A gentle lass, the most beautiful in the village and so kind. We envied her to the stars but could never be jealous, for she were so sweet and good to all. You have her likeness, Mister Hux, for all your wild looks. I see her in your eyes and that striking color in your hair. You’re her lad through and through.” 

Hux sat stock still. He’d learned more about his mother in five minutes than he’d heard his entire life. He found that whole swatches of his memories went blank when it came to his mother. He couldn’t remember his mother’s voice nor her face, much less her name. As a child, he’d dared not to speak of her per his father’s command. He’d grown so accustomed to the embargo it didn’t occur to him he could throw it off now. 

“We grieved when she were called up to the hall for a kitchen girl, for we knew what the old general was. All the villages knew, but what choice did our poor parents have? We were no power to fight them armies. It were a terrible time for poor Mara, and she an orphan, with only a careless uncle to watch for her. That as good as sealed her fate.”

Rose stole a glance at Armitage. He’d gone pale, but his eyes were fixed on Millie. He wanted to know more. 

“The brush I gave you, Miss, and them ribbons, they belonged to her. I hope you don’t mind; I made a gift of them, Mister Hux. I thought they should be with your family.”

Hux cleared the lump in his throat before he spoke, “You were right to do it, Miss Millie. I thank you.” 

Millie nodded and continued. “When she fell with child, she were so glad Mr. Hux, so pleased to be expecting a babe. Even if the manner of getting it were not what it should be, for she was not a wife. Still, she put a cradle here in this room, not far from where you sit, though I daresay you don't remember, you was but a wee thing. She loved you to distraction, Mister Hux. You was the light of her heart, but that were until your pa's new wife couldn't have a bairn of her own. Poor Mara, for they took you away, and it broke her spirit and made her heart-sick. After that, she couldn’t keep her place here and all. She wanted to stay by you, make sure you was alright. That was her hope. She promised not to push she was your ma, but soon you was sent away to school, and no one saw you again.”

The room had grown heavy with sadness and memory as old Millie recounted the story. She pulled out an old handkerchief from her skirt pocket and wiped a stray tear from her eye. Hux’s eyes were red and painful. Millie’s figure was blurring into invisibility before him. He took Rose’s hand in his, and she fought to keep the tears that welled in her eyes from running over. 

Millie smiled at the young couple through watery eyes. “Those was sad times, Mr. Hux, no doubt, but the stars were kind. For here you are! Your ma would be so proud, her little lad growed to be a fine man. For whatever you was, you’re not at all like your pa, and you're where you belong, with your people, a sweet cailin by your side. If that weren’t riches enough, it looks like you're bound to be a pa soon yourself! It’s going to be a bonny babe between the looks of you.”

The old woman's declaration landed like a bomber's payload on their lives, unbidden, unexpected, and devastating. 


	3. Seven Ways of Seeing Armitage Hux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose Tico was very unhappy, which was unfortunate, and the cause, wholly unexpected. Dr. Kalonia was uncertain her diagnosis would improve their situation, but she’d learned that humans, as most complex life forms, were seldom predictable.

Millie’s satisfied smile was undiminished even after Armitage made his abrupt departure. It was easy to excuse his behavior given the gravity of what they’d just learned. Rose pulled her chair closer and took the older woman’s hands in hers.

“Millie, these stories, I- I can’t even begin to tell you what they mean to Armitage, and me, but a child? How can you possibly know that?” 

“You know I’m right, Miss, if you stop and consider. You and Mr. Hux has been busy.” The old woman’s eye’s twinkled at this, “What with the hall and finding your way; tis easy enough to miss the obvious lass, even inside you.” 

Rose waived Millie off with shaking hands and turned back to her workroom. She took a deep breath, trying to process her anxious thoughts. Armitage’s initial response was chilling. He doubtless was shocked as she was, but Millie was a fanciful old woman, kind and well-meaning, but surely it was mad to take her at her word. Rose smiled at the thought. It was an absurd idea. After all, she was on a suppressant, and they were typically designed to be long lasting. How long had it been? Since she’d left the Resistance base? Might she be overdue for one? Her courses had always been irregular in the stresses of war, but now? 

“Millie couldn’t be right, could she?” Rose said out loud to no one. A shot of fear went through her like a jolt. 

***

Upstairs, Rose found Hux looking out from the vast east window that faced the sea. The evening was coming on, and the light was shifting into half-darkness. The stark paleness of his hands holding the heavy curtains open were like beacons in the waning light. 

He was brooding. Rose could tell by the lines in his brow and the rigid set of his mouth. They rarely fought. They hardly had the stomach for it. They’d had enough strife for a lifetime and wanted to maintain a certain peace, but she could sense he was troubled, and indeed he’d heard enough that day to unsettle him for another lifetime.

Her heart ached a little to look at him. His fine, thin agility had grown rugged from his time outdoors on the ships. Even his touch was different. His hands had grown calloused and rough. Rose shivered as she recalled them on her delicate skin. It was startling for her to acknowledge how easily he’d become the repository of all her love. In the absence of her parents, her sister, and her planet, he was family and home to her now. Improbably, Rose’s heart told her that wherever he went, she would follow. He was at the center of all she loved.

Hearing her soft step, Armitage Hux turned to Rose and smiled kindly, but the smile did not reach his eyes. 

“I can make arrangements for you, Rose, to help you find accommodations for you and your new family.”

Rose looked at him, startled. He turned back to the view as he continued to speak. 

“Or perhaps if he’d allow it, you’re both welcome here. Of course, I wouldn't stay; that wouldn’t be right, but our arrangement allows me to make provisions for you as a family member would. He could think of this place as a dowry for you. I imagine he could object; a self-respecting man might. Doubtless, he has his own home, though the village cottages are primitive. Only, I think this place will be too big for me when you go, so- I thought perhaps-.” 

“Armitage, what are you saying?” Rose interrupted, aghast. 

He looked at her evenly. There was a cold distance in his eyes. 

“It can’t be mine, Rose.”

His words struck her like a blow.

Hux continued. “We never discussed it. It never seemed relevant, but I opted for voluntary sterilization after I made general. You heard what my father was. He was a menace and a disgrace. I was determined never to leave any bastards in my wake. I made certain I wouldn’t. I can't possibly be the father of your child, Rose, of any child.” 

“But we don’t even know if it’s true,” Rose cried, incredulously, “It’s just Millie’s crazy idea. Why would you think I could ever hurt you like that!” She stood staring at Armitage, her eyes filled with hurt.

The devastated look on Rose’s face brought Hux’s error home to him immediately. She was right, only too right. He was overreacting and accusing her needlessly, foolishly. Millie disturbed memories that threw him into chaos, and he was spilling his wreckage onto Rose. Despite his love for her, he was wounding her with his private terrors. 

“Rose,” he said, moving to reach her. “I’ve always been afraid. I don’t know what’s gotten-.” 

“You meant every word. Every word.” Her voice had an angry tone that stopped him in his path. “And damn you, Armitage Hux, for thinking I could ever betray you!” 

Rose felt her temper rising. The certainty of his accusations had cut her to the heart. 

“Who do you suppose I’m seeing, Armitage? Do you have a partner for my guilt? And how? I don’t go to the village without you! You know that, and only the young boys are sent herewith errands! They're lads; all the men are out on the ships with you! Who would I see? Who can hide anything in this village? Who wouldn’t know if I tried to betray you?”

Rose started to weep from despair and anger, “How could you think the worst of me? How could you think I’m capable of it?” 

***

Rose’s misery was bone-deep, and she’d locked herself away in her room for days, unable to cope with her flood of feelings. She couldn't bear to see Armitage Hux. She felt hollow, and the old grief that pressed on her heart after her sister and parents died returned. Rose was in mourning, but this time she lamented the death of her faith in the man she’d grown to love. The end of his faith in her. She wished she could be like the Arkanian women she’d witnessed at funerals in the village, who covered themselves with ash and cried laments on their unlit hearths, but she'd have no witnesses. No one could commiserate with her in her losses. Rose was alone at the center of her collapsed world. 

Armitage Hux was beside himself with regret. He desperately wished he kept his jealous fears and ugly suspicions hidden away. He realized too late that he could willingly feign happiness even if his worst assumptions had proven to be true. They did not matter in light of what Rose was to him. He could have accepted the child, made Rose his wife. Instead of gaining, he lost all, and for what? Empty suspicion? Jealous pride? He cursed himself at the thought. He could go to her door, dismantle it and demand she speak to him, but what would it avail? He feared that he’d already lost her irrevocably; all he could do was delay the inevitable end. 

***

After several days passed, Armitage grew too worried to stay away any longer. To his knowledge, Rose had not eaten nor left her room. He feared what she might do or leave undone. 

“Rose, “ Armitage called tentatively through her door. “Rose, I brought some food. You ought to eat.” 

“Leave me alone.” was her muffled reply. 

“Rose, please!” 

“I want to go back to Crait.” 

Armitage’s heart contracted. It was as he’d feared. They’d called him Starkiller in his battle days, and Starkiller he remained. Rose had been the light in his sky, and he had extinguished her glory.

“Rose, if you open the door and eat. I’ll take you wherever you want. I promise you.” 

“You made me promises before.”

He laid his forehead against her door. It was a prop against his despair, but he deserved her rebuke and bore it as well as he could. He could feel the hard truth in her words. 

“Please open the door. Please, Rose.”

A moment passed, and Rose’s door slid open; her room was dark and freezing. She had turned off the temperature controls and closed her curtains against the meager sun outside. He found her in bed; her face turned from him, her small body buried deep in her covers. Her once glossy hair was knotted and in disarray and fell over her pillows like unraveled rope. He could see her peaked face reflected in the tall mirror across the room. The mirror that once revealed her to him, drunk with love for him. Now, she had dark circles under her eyes, and her lips were chapped and dry. He was alarmed. She didn’t look like herself, just a pale shadow of who she used to be. He made his decision quickly. 

“Rose, I’m calling Doctor Kalonia. Once you’re well again, you can go back to Crait.”

Rose made no response but the silent tears that fell from her eyes. 

***

“Won’t you follow me up to Rose’s room, Hux? I want to speak to you both there.” 

Armitage walked behind the doctor, unrolling his shirt sleeves. She’d wanted to conduct some preliminary tests on him as well, a waste of time, he thought, he’d hardened himself to emotional turmoil long ago. Nevertheless, Doctor Harter Kalonia would brook no arguments. Good-humored and capable, she had a way of carrying her point so that even a former First Order general could not refuse her. Since the end of the war, the Doctor had stayed on Crait to help with the relocation of many displaced individuals and continued to oversee long-standing cases. There was a little more grey in her brown hair, but she appeared mostly unchanged from the last time she’d seen them. She still wore her old uniform, with its medical vest and starched white shirt; it made for less fuss as Dr. Kalonia was practical to her core. Her brown eyes were warm but also wise. She’d remembered Armitage Hux and Rose Tico; of course, they were among the more surprising outcomes in the aftermath of war. It was her curiosity as well as concern that brought her to Arkanis. Rose Tico was very unhappy, which was unfortunate, and the cause, wholly unexpected. The doctor was uncertain her diagnosis would improve their situation, but she’d learned that humans, as most complex life forms, were seldom predictable. 

Dr. Kalonia gestured to Hux to seat himself next to Rose. She was pale and listless, but she managed to bathe and put on a new nightdress and robe for the visit. She’d put on her old numbness to carry on, only half aware of what was going on around her. Armitage Hux looked miserable, a combination of anxiety and fear written plainly on his face. He swallowed hard as he waited for the doctor’s verdict. 

The doctor gave them both a reassuring smile before she began. 

“You’ll both forgive me if I start my diagnosis with a briefing. I think it’s vital to understanding your case. You both know I’ve remained on Crait though the war is long over. My work has included a thorough examination of the First Order medical records and research during this time. We’ve found that this has been instrumental to some of our reunification efforts and enhanced our medical operations since some of our care individuals are former combatants. In recent months we uncovered new intelligence that has impacted former officers directly.”

“Dr.,” Armitage Hux interrupted impatiently, “Forgive me, but we’re not here because we’re concerned about my health.” 

“No, of course not, but this information impacts you both.” 

Glancing at her datapad, the doctor continued, “It’s come to our attention that the First Order hid a plan to fill its depleting officer ranks with leaderships' children should the need arise. Some feared that the conscripting youngsters’ policy was becoming untenable, particularly as the possibility of troopers going rogue was discovered. The alternative of breeding a new leadership class in house, so to speak, was kept in reserve. It was a long-term plan, of course, but as a general, Hux, you were among those chosen. I have seen your sterilization request, but in no way would an Order doctor comply with that request, not if it meant contradicting higher command. Doubtless, they kept up a charade, probably implanting a suppressant to last years, but it was never permanent. I ran the tests to be certain. You're still perfectly capable of having children.”

Dr. Kalonia handed Armitage her datapad so that he might read the reports for himself. As he read, Hux felt himself go hot. The doctor looked at them both soberly. 

“You can likely guess where this is leading. Rose is expecting, and as far as I can detect, it’s a healthy pregnancy. I recommend modifications to your diet and stress, but overall, I don’t anticipate there being much trouble. Unless there’s a problem with your arrangement, I’d say things will run a very natural course, but you must stop this crying, my dear. It won’t do. Upsetting yourself won’t help.” 

Hux could barely pay attention to the Dr.'s words. His heart was smiting him. 

“Dr. could you leave us alone for a moment? Rose and I have something to discuss.” 

The doctor smiled kindly at them and lent over to give Rose’s hand a reassuring squeeze before she left the room. 

Hux knelt in front of Rose's chair. She was weeping hard, her chin folded into her chest, tears running down her face. Armitage tried to take her hands in his, but she pulled them away to cover her face. He grabbed her around the waist, putting his head in her lap. 

“Rose, I've been a fool.” His words rushed out, afraid she’d throw him out before he could finish. “I’m a wretch. I know it. It's always been a wonder that you chose me. Somehow I've been waiting for revenge or betrayal because I know I deserve it. How could you love me? After all I’ve done? Who I’ve been? I thought this was the end of my happiness, and I was certain I was always on borrowed time. It made sense that you would betray someone like me; I partly wished it. I'm used to pain, Rose; it’s what I understand. It’s always been the truth for me. I was so quick to believe the worst, not because of you, but because of me.”

Rose wiped away some of her tears on hearing his confession. Her heart bled for him. She'd forgotten the shame that continually plagued him. Leaning over Hux, she placed her cheek on his lowered head and draped her arms around his shoulders and back. She was exhausted.

“ What about any of this or us makes sense, Armitage? You or me or this planet, this home or any of it? Yet it’s true, and it's real. I know, I know mistrust and vigilance helped you survive. It kept you alive, but we’re not in the past anymore. You’re not that lonely little boy or that cruel general. I will never add to your sorrows, not willingly, not knowingly. I know Armitage, love isn’t easy when you’ve never known it, but I believe in it, I’ve fought for it, and I recognized it when it came to me through you.” At this, Rose began to weep again, not in the disconsolate way as before, but with relief. “And I don’t know where I would be without you. I don’t know, and I don’t want to think about it because the idea of living without you was a waking death. I love you, Armitage, with my whole heart, and I love this baby. I love it because it's yours and because I want to love it with you.”

***

Rose Tico found she’d developed a great talent for happiness. It was like taking up the most beautiful flowers in a field or the largest piece of marble-berry pie. She never hesitated to accept any of it. So when she and Armitage Hux married, though she was as big as a shaak, she’d felt no shame, only joy. Half the village had piled into their great room to witness the proceeding, old Millie, seated in a place of honor, well satisfied. Millie was also present at the presentation, which happened in not too rapid succession. The rain on the day was only a drizzle, a good omen, it was said, for a firstborn Arkanian son. The child was passed around to those gathered to be kissed and blessed. Everyone wondered at his night-dark hair and his sea-green eyes. The child’s name was whispered among them, young Muirghean, bright sea, a joy to his parents, and it was hoped, one day, a delight to the world. Rose’s greatest happiness was in seeing Armitage Hux, a small gamboling boy at his side, reach down and lift the lad into his arms, for she knew that the child was as safe there as she was. It would always be so, as long as Armitage Hux had sight in his eyes and breath in his lungs. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Low-key at this point, we're like, at 9 Ways of Seeing Armitage Hux, friends, but Imma leave it as is. This is unbeta-ed except for Grammarly, but I did talk it through with  
> Celestial_Mess1  
> at its very inception, so I thank her for that input and you, for doing me the honor of reading a new writer's stuff. Thanks again!


End file.
